Archive - Aug 2007

Game Chat : BR Preview : Press Notes Sean Marshall vs. Micah Owings Lineups:

Theriot SS	Young CF
Jones RF	Hudson 2B
Lee 1B	Byrnes LF
Ramirez 3B	Jackson 1B
Floyd LF	Snyder C
DeRosa 2B	Reynolds 3B
Kendall C	Upton RF
Pie CF	Drew SS
Marshall P	Owings P

By all accounts, Craig Monroe was having an off-season with the Tigers, who asked Monroe to turn in his uniform and his pass to the players' parking lot last Friday, when he was designated for assignment. Here's what Rotoworld had to say at the time of the move:

The Tigers are cutting a guy with 59 homers and 236 RBI since the start of 2005. He's even a pretty good defender in a corner outfield spot. The big negative is that he carries poor OBPs even when he's swinging well. Still, there are more than a few teams that would like to have him around and some would probably even play him regularly. Expect him to be traded before he can become a free agent.

So how far off was Monroe with Detroit this year?

Game Chat : BR Preview : Press Notes Carlos Zambrano vs. Matt Cain Lineups:

Theriot SS	Roberts LF
Jones CF	Davis CF
Lee 1B	Winn RF
Ramirez 3B	Klesko 1B
Ward RF	Durham 2B
DeRosa LF	Aurilia 3B
Kendall C	Vizquel SS
Fontenot 2B	Rodriguez C
Zambrano P	Cain P

Why in holy hell would you play Ward in Telephone Company Park's right field over DeRosa? UPDATE: Reader Andy says he heard Lou in the pre-game press conference say that DeRosa is playing right and Ward in left. Sounds like it might be a typo on SI.com or Yahoo's part. AZ PHIL UPDATE: To make room on the 40-man roster for OF Craig Monroe (acquired earlier today from DET), the Cubs have designated OF Buck Coats for assignment. Coats was having a fine year at AAA Iowa, hitting 303/363/435 and leading the entire Cubs organization in OF assists with 15. The Cubs now have ten days to either trade, release, or outright Coats to the minors. If he isn't traded and manages to clear Outright Waivers without being claimed, Coats is eligible to be a six-year minor league FA after the 2007 season. ROB G. UPDATE: I rule (in regards to Buck Coats). And I don't know what the hell is going on with the lineup but I just saw Ward field the ball in right, so I assume that's where he's playing.

The man in charge of MVN's baseball sites and Pirates blogger Cory Humes tipped me that Craig Monroe has been dealt to the Cubs, his source is the FSN Detroit broadcast. Details to come. UPDATE #1: The deal is for the one and only PTBNL. Let's just flip the guy we're suppose to get from the Pirates to the Tigers and call it an Izturis for Monroe swap. Who's in? Monroe was all kinds of brutal this year with the Tigers, posting an OPS+ of 67. He still hits lefties though, 277/321/501 for his career and 302/317/542 this year. He's played all three outfield positions in the majors although I can't speak about his defense. His Rate2 numbers at Baseball Prospectus are 96, 90 and 104 from left to right for his career, 100 being average, so that's not promising. I assume Jake Fox or Felix Pie are the first casualties of the trade. By the time Soriano is healthy, rosters will have expanded and we'll have September to hopefully figure out our playoff roster. UPDATE #2: The Cubs will also get cash considerations from the Tigers in the deal and a 40-man roster move will have to be made before tomorrow. Arizona Phil speculates either Angel Pagan to the 60-day DL or Neil Cotts being DFA'd. Both sound reasonable to me and I'll throw in DFAing Buck Coats who doesn't seem to have much future with the club. UPDATE #3: Tigers Insider says the Cubs have until October 15th to send over Mr. PTBNL. AZ PHIL: Craig Monroe is signed through this season and is making $4.775M, and will not be a FA until after the 2008 season. He will be eligible for salary-arbitration after this season, where even if he takes the maximum 20% cut, he still can’t get less than $3.82M in 2008. So unless he gets REALLY hot with the Cubs and makes himself indispensible, I’d look for Monroe to be a 12/12 non-tender.

Game Chat : BR Preview : Press Notes Rich Hill vs. Barry Zito Lineups:

Theriot SS	Davis CF
DeRosa 2B	Ortmeier 1B
Lee 1B	Winn RF
Ramirez 3B	Bonds LF
Floyd LF	Molina C
Fox RF	Feliz 3B
Kendall C	Aurilia 2B
Jones CF	Vizquel SS
Hill P	Zito P

Reader Doug Dascenzo with this gem from yesterday's preview:

If Rich Hill faces Barry Zito are we risking an implosion of the universe, like if Young Marty McFly accidentally crossed paths with Old Marty McFly in Back to the Future II?

Who knew that day would ever arrive? Way back when, the folks that run ESPN's SportsNation asked me to submit my choice for "The Face of the Franchise". The only stipulation being that it be a current member of the organization. This was back in May and might have gone with a different choice had Carlos Zambrano's extension been signed, but at the time being it seemed Derrek Lee was the obvious choice and my fellow TCR writers seemed to all agree. And so did Paul Sullivan. Ouch! You guys can read all about it over at ESPN.com and feel free to vote. Now pardon me, while I slice my wrists with a dull razor.

Game Chat : BR Preview : Press Notes Jason Marquis vs. Tim Lincecum Lineups:

Theriot SS	Roberts CF
Jones CF	Durham 2B
Lee 1B	Winn RF
Ramirez 3B	Bonds LF
Floyd LF	Klesko 1B
DeRosa RF	Molina C
Fontenot 2B	Feliz 3B
Kendall C	Vizquel SS
Marquis P	Lincecum P

Hopefully the Giants bring another fine defensive effort as they did at Wrigley. Is that Rodriguez catcher still around?

Category	Cubs	Giants
Runs Scored	575 (8th)	535 (13th)
Runs Allowed	529 (2nd)	551 (5th)
Team Defensive Efficiency	.716 (2nd)	.702(6th)
Starters ERA	4.07 (2nd)	4.16 (4th)
Relievers ERA	4.02 (10th)	3.95 (7th)
Batting Average	.270 (7th)	.253 (13th)
On-Base Percentage	.331 (9th)	.324 (12th)
Slugging Percentage	.412 (8th)	.386 (15th)

The Matchups

Player	W	L	ERA	IP	K	BB	HR	FIP
J. Marquis	10	7	4.25	146	80	59	18	5.13
T. Lincecum	7	3	3.95	116.3	125	52	11	3.62

Player	W	L	ERA	IP	K	BB	HR	FIP
R. Hill	7	7	3.73	147.3	135	50	24	4.68
B. Zito	9	11	4.48	145.7	100	68	19	4.97

Player	W	L	ERA	IP	K	BB	HR	FIP
C. Zambrano	14	9	3.86	168	139	77	20	4.66
M. Cain	5	13	3.78	157.3	124	70	10	3.87

Cubs manager Lou Piniella and pitching Larry Rothschild have been talking lately about the stress and strain Cubs relievers are under this month, what with the Cubs playing twenty days in a row, the "Dog Days" of August, and the pressures of a pennant race. Both Cousin Larry and Uncle Lou have mentioned that on September 1st, bullpen reinforcements can be added, because that's when the rosters can be expanded from 25 to 40 players. And that's true. They are correct. But actually, they really don't have to wait that long...

Game Chat Joel Pineiro vs. Ted Lilly Lineups:

Ryan 2B	Theriot SS
Ankiel LF	Jones CF
Pujols 1B	Lee 1B
Encarnacion RF	Ramirez 3B
Rolen 3B	Ward RF
Edmonds CF	DeRosa 2B
Molina C	Murton LF
Pineiro P	Kendall C
Eckstein SS	Lilly P

Game Chat Kip Wells vs. Carlos Zambrano Lineups:

Miles 2B	Theriot SS
Ankiel RF	Jones CF
Pujols 1B	Lee 1B
Edmonds CF	Ramirez 3B
Duncan LF	Ward RF
Rolen 3B	DeRosa 2B
Molina C	Murton LF
Wells P	Kendall C
Ryan SS	Zambrano P

Game Chat : BR Preview : Press Notes Anthony Reyes vs. Sean Marshall Lineups:

Eckstein SS	Theriot SS
Taguchi CF	Jones CF
Pujols 1B	Lee 1B
Encarnacion RF	Ramirez 3B
Rolen 3B	Ward RF
Ludwick LF	DeRosa 2B
Molina C	Murton LF
Reyes P	Kendall C
Ryan 2B	Marshall P

Possible chance of rain, you can check out the live webcam of conditions outside the park if you wish. (Thanks to reader cubswinthepennant for that link)

In light of the grotesquely ugly 8-3 loss that dropped their heroes behind the Cubs, Milwaukee fans are trying on second place...and the folks don't seem to like the way it looks on them. Fan comments from tonight's Milwaukee Journal Brewers Blog... “Something needs to change.” “…the manger has lost this team, they have no energy…Yost needs to be gone, the sooner the better!!” “(Yost) doesn’t know how to keep a team fresh.” “Other teams seem to have a book on the Brewers and know how to play them every day.” “The team seems to lack a leader.” “…this is quickly turning into a ‘typical Brewers season.’ Is .500 even a reality at this point?”

Game Chat Braden Looper vs. Rich Hill Lineups:

Eckstein SS	Theriot SS
Ludwick LF	Jones CF
Pujols 1B	Lee 1B
Encarnacion RF	Ramirez 3B
Rolen 3B	Ward RF
Edmonds CF	Murton LF
Molina C	Fontenot 2B
Looper P	Kendall C
Ryan 2B	Hill P

With Carlos Zambrano signing a multi-year contract extention today, here are some Cubs 2008 payroll and post-2007 off-season roster projections: